Tins are often one of the cheapest, easiest ways to pick up the latest Pokemon TCG cards. You may not get the sheer quantity of cards you’d get from a booster box or an Elite Trainer Box, but tins come with a few neat promos and a few booster packs to keep your collection growing.
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Launching in October 2023, one of the earliest released in the Scarlet & Violet era was the Paldea Partners tin. There are three different versions, but what exactly do you get in them, and are they worth it?
There are three different editions of the Paldea Partners tin available, with each based on the final stage of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s starter Pokemon. As such, they each come with a matching promo card of their face Pokemon.
Of the three cards, Meowscarada ex is the most interesting. It’s the only one of the three that has become a consistent part of the game’s meta, with decks using it placing well at multiple tournaments.
While Quaquaval ex and Skeledirge ex haven’t reached the heights Meowscarada has, it’s worth pointing out that the versions of the cards in the tins are exclusive art treatments not found in any other product.
The cards themselves can be found in booster packs of Paldea Evolved, but they have different art to the ones found in the tins.
Four Booster Packs
The main event of the tin are the four random booster packs. These are regular packs, with ten cards and an energy card.
Although the Pokemon Company doesn’t state which packs are included in the tins, community members opening packs shows that it can contain packs from anywhere between Sword & Shield: Astral Radiance and Scarlet & Violet: Obsidian Flames, with Obsidian Flames being the most common.
You won’t find packs from any special or supplementary product, such as Crown Zenith or 151. Only major, tentpole releases are included in the Paldea Partners tins, which means the expansions you can find packs from include:
- Astral Radiance
- Lost Origin
- Silver Tempest
- Scarlet & Violet
- Paldea Evolved
- Obsidian Flames
Pokemon TCG Live Code
Finally, you’ll get five code cards for Pokemon TCG Live, the digital client version of the game.
The code included in the tin will redeem for one copy of the promo card (Meowscarada ex, Quaquaval ex, or Skeledirge ex). However, each booster pack also has a code card inside them, giving you another booster pack in Live when redeemed.
As with other Live codes, this will not be an exact copy of your pack, but will instead simply unlock another booster with its own cards in. Sadly, if you pull a chase card in any of your packs, there’s no guarantee you’ll also get it on Live.
Live is different to TCG Pocket, which uses its own booster packs. You cannot redeem codes on TCG Pocket.
Is The Paldea Partners Tin Worth Buying?
The Paldea Partners tin is one of the older tins available, with most interest in it coming from the Meowscarada ex card playing a role in meta decks. However, whether it’s worth buying or not depends more on how you feel about the booster packs.
Despite none of the booster packs being heavy-hitters like Evolving Skies or Prismatic Evolutions, there are still highly sought-after cards found in Obsidian Flames and Paldea Evolved. Alt-art Magikarp, Iono, and, of course, Charizard ex can all be pulled in them, which any one would make the entire tin worthwhile.
If you can find a tin, or even a case, for cheap, the Paldea Partners tin are a great way to potentially find some big cards. And even if you don’t, you’re getting a grab bag of an interesting time in the TCG, especially as Sword & Shield-era packs start to become more scarce as we move further on from them.
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